Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
269. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding Ireland’s national sail training program; whether there are plans to acquire a new national sail training vessel as a successor to Asgard II; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5726/26]
View answerMy Department has a continuing programme of sail training in Ireland, which is operated under a performance delivery agreement with Sail Training Ireland. The funding arrangement was confirmed in December 2018, for the two year period 2019-2020, but was impacted by the Covid Pandemic which prevented training voyages from taking place in 2020 or 2021. Training voyages, and funding, resumed in 2022, and have continued to date under succeeding performance delivery agreements.
In 2025, this organisation operated thirty-two voyages, with almost 500 trainees from across Ireland. A key condition of the funding is that it is directed towards making sail training accessible to those who might otherwise not have the opportunity to participate. As such, 83% of the 2025 participants received funding from the charity due to their personal circumstances, and three of the 2025 voyages were dedicated entirely to those with a disability.
Since 2023, the Department has paid a subvention of one hundred thousand euro per annum to Sail Training Ireland, with a further fifty thousand euro per annum paid from the Dormant Account Fund.
The Government is committed to this programme, which is operating very successfully, and funding is continuing in 2026. In total, by end 2026, some eight hundred and twenty thousand euro will have been provided to Sail Training Ireland.
The Government does not have any plans to acquire a successor to Asgard II.
